“For all Canadians”: Ex-banker Mark Carney achieves historic PM win, defies Trump in landmark federal elections

Banker-turned-Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney achieved a stellar victory in the country's federal elections on Tuesday, achieving a historic turnaround for his Liberal Party by focusing on multilateralism and Canadian sovereignty, at a time when US President Donald Trump economically pressurises the smallest G7 nation to become America's 51st state.

Despite being the first political newcomer to become a Prime Minister, Carney is no spring chicken, also being the first person to have led two G7 central banks—the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada—and successfully seeing economic crises to their end during his tenure.

His strong campaign speeches, which primarily attacked the impact of Trump and his trade war on Canada's uncertain political landscape struck a chord on a local level, but also positioned him as a key global G7 player.

"Canada is ready to take a leadership role in building a coalition of like-minded countries who share our values," Carney said on April 3 in Ottawa, as per a Reuters report. 

"We believe in international cooperation. We believe in the free and open exchange of goods, services and ideas. And if the United States no longer wants to lead, Canada will."

Populist Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre's loss to Carney also saw him lose his seat in the Parliament, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said on Tuesday. This loss completes a dramatic shift in fortunes for the Liberals, since the Poilievre-led Conservatives had been poised to take over the House of Commons just a few months ago, in the face of a political interregnum brought on by former PM Justin Trudeau's sudden resignation in January this year. 

However, reports say that Poilievre's campaign, led by the slogan “Canada First”—inspired by Trump's “America First”—as well as certain other similarities in their personalities could very well have been a factor in his party's loss. 

Elections Canada stated that it had decided to pause the counting of special ballots—cast by voters who are away from their districts during the election—till early Wednesday. At the time, the Liberals were either leading or elected in 168 seats, just four short of a majority. As a result, only the end of the counting period can tell whether Carney's Liberals win a majority or minority mandate. In the case of the latter, they would have to coalesce with smaller parties, especially ones like the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP), that suffered during this election because Canadian votes were polarised only towards the big parties.

PM Carney is also expected to take on major divisions in the country, as per a BBC report, which explained that the Ottawa-based party was largely alienated from Alberta and Saskatchewan—two large provinces with a rich store of natural resources— which could spark a national unity crisis, as a lot of the natives from these places had resonated more with Poilievre prioritising cost of living issues. 

"I intend to govern for all Canadians," Carney said in his victory speech, promising to bridge the stark gap that theatened national unity, especially in the face of Washington's economic aggression. 

He also said that the mutually beneficial system that Canada and the US had shared since World War II was over. 

“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” he reminded the public.

“As I’ve been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country ... These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never ... ever happen. But we also must recognise the reality that our world has fundamentally changed.” 

According to an Associated Press report, Trump's moves against Canada has infuriated Canadians, leading many to cancel vacations to the US, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early. A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day.

With Canada also having assumed the G7 presidency for 2025, fortifying Canada's economy is expected to be another of Carney's immediate priorities, including measures to reduce dependence on America (which buys 90% of Canada's oil exports).

Carney will likely start by expanding Canadian trade with Europe, Australia and Asian democracies such as Japan, in an attempt to blunt some of the economic damage from the newly imposed US tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum, explained Former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson in the same AP report. 

World